NYPD: Muslim Faked "Trump" Islamophobia Hate Crime

The Muslim college student who said three men assaulted her and called her a terrorist on the New York City subway two weeks ago made up the story, police said Wednesday.

The NYPD said 18-year-old Yasmin Seweid lied about being attacked on an uptown No. 6 train at East 23rd Street on December 1.

Seweid had also told the police that the men appeared drunk as they yelled Donald Trump's name and tried to take her hijab off her head.

"Get that f****** thing off your head!" she said they shouted.

This was Yasmin's original claim on Facebook.

I initially was not planning on making a post about what happened yesterday, but you will probably be seeing stories about it on the news & in the newspaper tomorrow. I take the train every single day going to & coming from class, but yesterday, something happened that I never thought would happen to me. I was harassed on the subway last night and it was just so dehumanizing I can't speak about it without getting emotional. Three white racists ripped the straps off my bag & attempted to yank my hijab off my head. They yelled such disgusting slurs at me, I was so helpless and felt defenseless. "Look it's a fucking terrorist", "go back to your country", "take that rag off your head", and so many more. Trump's name was repeatedly said & it finally clicked in my head. No matter how "cultured" or "Americanized" I am, these people don't see me as an American. It breaks my heart that so many individuals chose to be bystanders while watching me get harassed verbally and physically by these disgusting pigs. Trump America is real and I witnessed it first hand last night! What a traumatizing night. Please stay safe everyone & never let anyone take your rights away. Just thought I should share that with you all tonight.

New York City police are looking for three men who taunted a Muslim woman aboard a subway train, yelling “Donald Trump” and calling her a terrorist.

Yasmin Seweid, 18, was still shaken by the traumatic train ride, CBS New York reports.

Around 10 p.m. Thursday, she got on the 6 train at East 23rd Street and Park Avenue after leaving a school event at Baruch College.

“I heard them talk, but I had my headphones in, I wasn’t really listening, I had a long day. And they came closer and I distinctly heard them saying, ‘Donald Trump,’” she said.

Seweid said she was then verbally attacked by the three drunk, white men.

“They were surrounding me from behind and they were like, ‘Oh look, it’s an f-ing terrorist,’” she said. “I didn’t answer. They pulled my strap of the bag and it ripped, and that’s when I turned around and I was really polite and I was like, ‘can you please leave me alone?’ and everyone was looking, no one said a thing, everyone just looked away.”

Seweid said no one stopped the men, not even when they tried to tear off her hijab.

“They kept saying, ‘you don’t belong here, get out of this country, go back to your country,’ and finally they came really close and they were like, ‘take that rag off your head,’” she said.

The Brooklyn born woman, and proud American citizen, was horrified by what happened, and worried it could happen again.

“The president-elect just promotes this stuff and is very anti-Muslim, very Islamophobic, and he’s just condoning it,” she said.

The NYPD said the Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating and looking for witnesses to identify the men.

CAIR quickly jumped in.

“We’re horrified by the incident in and of itself,” Afaf Nasher of the Council on American Islamic Relations.

So did the Southern Poverty Law Center.

New Yorkers who witnessed the hate crime that never happened were berated.

The story about the young Muslim woman harassed on the train is a sad commentary on the climate of Islamophobia and hate that is prevailing in this country. This is the result of years of concerted efforts by a small but very resourceful group of Islamophobes. This hate-mongering was exacerbated by the rhetoric of Donald Trump and others during the election campaign.

What I find most disturbing in the story is that none of the fellow citizens who witnessed this harassment and assault by three men raised a finger. That is shameful.

Sam Shafi,Syosset

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Regarding the increase in hate crimes in New York and elsewhere, it seems as if it’s long overdue to start treating these crimes the same way we would treat terrorism [“NYC hate crimes up 35%,” News, Dec. 6]. Law enforcement should start investigating and making arrests.